


Liberty's kids oneshots and drabbles

by Afterxglow



Category: Liberty's Kids
Genre: Gen, Liberty's Kids - Freeform, My fandoms are all over the place, SarahxJames if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27389824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Afterxglow/pseuds/Afterxglow
Summary: I swear that I will one day post an actual story for one--or hopefully more--of my fandoms lol.
Relationships: James Hiller/Sarah Phillips
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> yeahhhhh I have a lot of drabbles and oneshots for my fandoms sitting around. I have some abandoned stories too, but I hope to work on some stories, finish them, THEN post them.
> 
> These first ones were part of the music lyric challenge, where you pick one song and then take out lyrics here and there, then write drabbles underneath. Sooo, that's why it's all over the place. XD
> 
> I apologize for any OOCness, I need to work on getting canon characters IC in pretty much every fandom I write for. 
> 
> Also, as much as I love revolutionary war history, yeahhh I screw things up a lot so I am very inaccurate lol.

**I'll return from darkness and save your precious skin**

" _ James _ ?!"

She stood frozen to the spot. Unable to place whether the young man was actually there or some figment of her imagination.

Sarah's breath caught in her throat as the disheveled man starting limping his way toward her- _ no _ , he was hurt. She'd  _ told _ him not to go off alone!- clutching a large, muddy bag like nothing had happened at all. As if he'd been gone no longer than a few hours, instead of  _ days _ on what he'd insisted was a harmless journey. It was a routine one, but this was a dangerous area. Thieves, tories, and cowboys were  _ everywhere _ . Not to mention Tarleton's green dragoons on high alert who stopped just about everyone who came into their line of sight.

The redhead frowned and clutched onto her hips as the blonde came into better view, flashing her a familiar, cheeky grin. It was like they'd put a bet on his life! Like he'd won some foolish, childish prize for managing to come back  _ alive _ .  _ Harmless _ , indeed.

The young woman opened her mouth to shout at him, but only got that far before her friend tumbled over. Her green eyes widened, and she rushed over to him, kneeling down and pulling him up to his shoulders in her lap.

"James,  _ what happened _ ?"

He stared at her for a moment, obviously exhausted and in pain, though he was also trying to figure out how he felt about what she'd just done. Sarah had half a mind to slap him on the head and convince him to  _ pay attention _ to what was important, instead of silly little things like this. They could argue over and deny it later. Right now, they needed to act like the adults they were.

Finally, he gave a chuckle that sounded more like a cough. "I ran into some Tories- nothing I couldn't handle."

Of course not. That was why he'd come home in such  _ wonderful _ shape!

"James Hiller, I do believe you are  _ too _ reckless for your own good!"

James rolled his eyes.

"Right, Sarah. And  _ you _ traipsing about battlefields and dangerous territory is  _ so _ much better."

She sputtered angrily, unable to argue with that logic, but also unwilling to give her rival of sorts the pleasure of being told he was right. They were both putting their necks on the line, and sometimes she wondered if they went too far. Their cause was just, documenting the war down to the very last detail of where they went was  _ important _ , but they'd all come so close to death too many times for her liking. She wished this atrocious war would come to an end soon, so James and Henri could be convinced to stop.

And so Moses and his brother would no longer be on opposing sides, able to reconnect without trouble for either one of them.

"You need to come inside," Sarah sighed, adopting a softer tone. "We need to dress your wounds, and keep you out of the cold."

The Carolina's were notoriously warm this time of year, but it had been getting cold at night and raining so frequently, she worried James would catch his death if he stayed out too long. She didn't even know where the worst of his injuries lay.

"I'll be  _ fine _ ." James insisted stubbornly, slowly sitting up. The wince of pain the action caused spoke otherwise, making him groan in defeat.

" _ Alright _ , but we need to go over these documents I barely managed to get here. Dr. Franklin  _ needs _ to hear about this."

**I will end your suffering, and let the healing light come in**

"Ow!"

"Hold still!"

Honestly, James was such a  pain sometimes. This wasn't the first time he, or any of them, had returned to their current dwellings with wounds that needed to be tended to, but he always acted like such a  child , for all the huffing and puffing he did.

"Maybe we should get  _ Moses _ to do this," He suggested, shying away from her once she'd wrapped one arm in gauze after applying something to treat the small gash that had been on it, and stitched it up . " _ He _ probably won't try to  _ kill _ me."

Sarah rolled her eyes, placing down the needle and thread. He had a much larger cut on his side that needed to be taken care of, as soon as possible. On some level, she could respect the fact he was afraid of  _ that _ one- it would take longer to close the wound, and that was likely the one that pained him the most. She'd thought about doing whatever it took to lull him into a state where she could work easier, but he'd refused.

"James, we  _ need _ to close it. It could become infected."

Recruiting Moses for the job wasn't so bad an idea. Perhaps he could hold James down, while trying to soothe him at the same time. Though, as much as she wanted to do it, it hardly seemed fair. Besides, James thrashing around would hardly do any of them much good.

He went silent, covering the touchy wound while staring at what little they had to treat anything here.

"I  _ get it _ ," he whispered, "But..."

"I know it hurts, James," She replied, patting the top of his hand. They went from bickering to trying to help each other in mere seconds. Henri had always found it very strange. Moses had simply smiled, knowing what the tension between them often hid. "..But we need to fix it. We can't have you getting sick or dying on us. Who would I bicker with then?"

He smirked a little.

**Sent by forces beyond salvation**

"Good evening, Madam."

"Oh!  _ Colonel _ !"

Sarah dipped her head and curtsied, trying to show the infamous Dragoon the utmost respect. She couldn't say she liked him appearing at their doorstop so late at night-nothing good ever came of that, it was  _ different _ during the day- but they had little choice than to entertain him. She hoped the others hadn't earned his attention in any way, that he was simply passing by to warn her of scoundrels in the area as he had before, or ask for her cooperation if she'd seen anything unusual as of late. James had suggested there was another reason the admittedly handsome man liked to show up, but Sarah wouldn't think too much of it yet. For one thing, she didn't know how she should feel about it were it the truth.

"To what do I owe this honor?" She inquired with a smile, stepping back to allow the man and any of the soldiers he'd brought with him entry. It would've been deadly if James or Moses were in some sort of trouble, but fortunately they were out looking into another story at the moment. Though, being left alone wasn't necessarily a better option. Tarleton was always a gentleman, but there was something dark and foreboding about him as well, even so. Perhaps it was the way he behaved on the battlefield and toward his enemies, and his presence felt heavier due to her loyalist ties being rather shaky nowadays.

"Just passing through," He replied, though made it a point to step inside. Sarah wanted to move away, but didn't want to be impolite. Just because she'd never seen him become unkind with a woman, didn't mean he was incapable of it. "I've heard... _ rumors _ ."

He looked around the house, ignoring her for what felt like an eternity as he  _ just listened _ ; straining to hear  _ something _ . Sarah felt like a marble had lodged itself in his throat as she watched. He knew what he'd come calling for, and it wasn't her. No, he seemed to believe there were others upstairs..likely others being harbored against His Majesty's law.

"I beg your pardon, Sir?"

She felt intimidated when his gaze snapped back to her, seeing a spark of fire for a moment- before it was gone and replaced with a far friendlier expression.

"What rumors?"

It was brash to push him for questions like this, but she had to know. James and the others needed to be warned that whatever mess they'd gotten themselves into had finally attracted the worst sort of attention.

"A young man and a runaway slave have been spotted, causing trouble along the plantations. They were last seen around this area-and there aren't many places for them to hide."

His gaze was almost accusatory. It took everything within her to play the part of a concerned and confused young lady, and show not an ounce of the fear she felt.

"I've heard and seen nothing of the sort, I'm afraid. But if there are dangerous criminals.."

She looked outside, now allowing her fear to surface, though through more acting.

"What if they  _ were _ to come here? My father and brothers are off to fight the rebels-I have no protection. Our slaves were proudly instated within His Majesty's forces."

"Yes..that  _ is _ a problem, isn't it?"

_He actually sounded concerned._

A shiver ran up her spine at the very thought.  _ Why _ was he bothered? Was he simply toying with her, and knew of her deception? Did he intend to use her to lure her friends out..or was James correct that he fancied her? She should've mentioned a husband, or a lover. It was too late now. 

Sarah could only hope this was due to accounts of him not being the barbarian he was often accused of being on and outside of the battlefield; a protective, gentlemanly gesture to a woman he believed to be a Loyalist, and nothing more. 

"I think it would be in your best interest to come with us, Madam. There is a camp nearby- I promise to deliver you there safely. We can seek out your brothers and father from there."

_ No _ ..he was going to find out she'd lied. Her gut twisted. While her father was a proud officer in the King's army, he had disappeared, and she _didn't_ have any brothers. That fact alone would be enough to make her a person of suspicion, and Sarah feared to think what that meant would happen were he to find out. 

_ Ohh _ , if only she could get some message out to her friends. They needed to fake a kidnapping.


	2. Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sort of in a 'turn'-like setting, which means language and grittier, I guess? Not that there's anything gritty in this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO YEAH.  
> Another one hahah. I do have to get more SWR and other fandom stuff up.  
> In all my Liberty's Kids stuff, I age the protags, except for Henri, so that they're adults.

"You are  _ incorrigible _ , James!"

The young man rolled his eyes as the Loyalist dramatically placed both hands on her hips and glowered down at him, clearly trying to decide what she should continue scolding him about first; the messy, dirty way he looked right now, or the reason he was like this in the first place. From the tone of her voice, James was betting on the latter.

"I'm a journalist, Sarah. What excuse do  _ you _ have for being out here?"

The redhead was caught off guard by the question momentarily. Her posture faltered and there was a glimmer of something he'd rarely seen in her eyes, at least directed toward him-  _ concern _ . It faded quickly though, as he'd expected it would, and she was right back to directing a sassy look at him in order to be the one who  _ didn't _ 'lose' here first. In fact, she looked like she was growing more smug by the second.

"You aren't the only one who has been granted the honor of detailing the events of this  _ atrocious _ war as they occur."

James's eyes widened as he hoisted himself out of the dirty cart he'd jumped into in order to avoid a British patrol, not even bothering to brush himself off as he stalked toward her in a combination of rage and shock.

Sarah took one look at him and the filth all over his jacket and stepped back, though she didn't seem actually scared of him or anything he could have done, that he was certain  _ every _ British man had warned a lady of her social standing about a hundred times since she'd arrived in New York.

" _ You _ ?!" He scoffed, hardly able to see Sarah of all people mucking around battlefields like he was going to be. Not to mention the fact the way she spoke of the war wasn't sitting right with him, as he knew exactly whom she placed the blame on; people like  _ him _ .

"Let me guess, you hope to make the ones  _ actually _ responsible for this war look like the saints those bastards  _ are not _ ."

Her face turned nearly as red as her hair at the remark, and James could see she was having an exceptionally hard time not trying to throw anything at or hit him.

"There is nothing  _ wrong _ with following His Majesty. And there are plenty men of charm and honor in our ranks, which is more than I can say for  _ your _ friends. They have a right to be heard, and not twisted into villains by the likes of you!"

There were about a hundred things he wanted to say in response to that, but knew he'd never get through to her, not this way. Nor would she him. The both of them were far too stubborn to relent to the other's idea of logic, so there was only one thing left to do- see which one of them actually made the difference and lasted through their journalist career without being killed or captured...though the idea of her being killed, no matter  _ how _ annoying she could be at times, upset James more than he wanted to openly admit. For a brief moment, he wondered if she felt the same way about him.

"Good luck with that,  _ Miss _ Phillips," he snorted again as he turned his back on her, unwilling to leave until he'd gotten the last word in. "As a woman, you'd be lucky to make it out of this city as a  _ serious _ journalist."

He didn't _really_ look that down upon women as his words made him seem. He knew they were capable of quite more than some men gave them credit for, but he also realized just how much it would rile his rival of sorts up, and  _ that _ made it worth it.

"I shall show you,  _ James Hiller _ !" She shrieked back as he started walking off, his hands in his pockets, before he felt something cold and icy hit the back of his head, a snowball the young woman had launched. He could only gawk at her before her hands tightened into fists and she stomped back off to the Major's house she was staying at, before his lips parted in a smirk. This was definitely going to be an interesting competition. 


End file.
